*Extremes collide*
I AM MELL DITANGCO (MY Pseudonym).
Its either I talk about really heavy polical issues or I will talk about light hearted topics such as my pet dog, peanut! That is as simple as I can put it!

12/30/2004

For a nation as down as we are, a nation the whole world seems to have forgotten, our only survival kit as we enter the year 2005 is the fabled Filipino smile. Maybe we see less of this smile as the current year ends. Maybe a pall of hopelessness is beginning to spread. Maybe Christmas this year wasn’t what it used to be, the never-ending deluge of greetings, the table always managing to be copious and hospitable. Now we’re down to our legendary smile.

And yet even as we smile, it cannot conceal the ache behind, the pain behind, the growing fear we’re hurtling against a brick wall, and then the lights go out, the smile goes out.

I remember having pointed out once in this space that we Filipinos are going through an unprecedented period. Like the melting watches of Salvador Dali, his pendants, his figures of women, our political, economic and social landscape is beginning to dissolve. And as they melt, what alternative landscape or landscapes are in store?

We’re still edgy, hesitant, perhaps even fearful talking about change. Change, radical and sudden change knocks fitfully at our intellectual doors. Any talk about revolution or civil war still brings off epileptic fits of objection and strong ideological opposition. Bloody change, puneta no, let’s reform the system, it’s not yet too late. That’s what I hear most often. With the addendum, we can still make our democracy work.

Maybe the wisdom of one Washington Sycip can refloat the waters of intelligent and rational discussion. He said: "There’s no country in the world that started with democracy and widespread poverty together and progressed to prosperity. None." He was right. And everybody in the room fell silent, not one able to rebut.

The Philippines had both. Democracy and a deeply impoverished people.

Wise in the ways of history, the never-ending cycles of change, great nations arising and great nations ebbing, weak nations stirring and weak nations throbbing to greatness, Wash nonetheless implied that our system, coupling democracy to grinding poverty could never work. Never did work. Never will work.

I wish Mr. Sycip could tell that to President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, to her advisers, to all those who cling to power and slam the door at any suggestion it’s time the Philippines shifts to strongman rule, an authoritarian system or benevolent dictatorship.

The coming year 2005 will tell whether we Filipinos have finally arrived at that historical stage where we can pull a political gun at the face of the powers that be and impose the change we desperately need to survive as a nation. The period for debate on what’s wrong with us is over and done with. We know what’s wrong. What we don’t know is what to do next

We have all stopped pretending there’s gold in them dar hills if only we cared to work and reform, and shed off all our bad habits. We can only get to the gold in them dar hills if we change systems, seek and impose models that will work in Asia. The Western democratic model has never worked in Asia. And never will.

Japan, South Korea, China, Malaysia, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and now Vietnam knew that. And so they forged political, economic and social systems that set up a command structure which cracked an almost merciless whip. The command was to catch up with America and the West, catch up in the shortest time possible, catch up by fully harnessing science and technology, catch up by slashing populations that could eat only crumbs so they could eat three square meals a today, catch up by putting the nation to work, work, work, sacrifice, sacrifice, sacrifice.

When the president of a country is haplessly reduced to begging her soldiers to stand by her and protect her because of a rising tide of popular anger and disgust, then you know the country is already kaput. I am not even sure those soldiers will oblige. They too and their families are twisting in the squalls of poverty. The time will certainly come when they will down rifles and abandon their masters in Malacañang.

Will the year 2005 provide the political and social tsunami enabling the people to rise in a great sheet of water and fall upon those who have persecuted them for ages?

Last Wednesday evening, we had ample occasion to discuss the year 2004 in terms of what it yielded and the year 2005 in terms of what it could yield. This was the Dios at Bayan talk show of Brother Eddie Villlaneueva aided by Kata Inocencio at Zoe Channel 11. Guests were journalists Tony Lopez and myself.

Tony in the beginning tried to give 2004 a pretty fair face but in the end succumbed to the dark wellsprings inside him and painted the passing year in the starkest hues. With all the graft and corruption, with the visage of Maj. Gen. Carlos Garcia sticking out of the tent like a disemboweled donkey, there was nothing to relieve 2004 except the pugilistic feats of Many Pacquiao.

The May 10 elections, earlier accepted as passable although somewhat defiled, in retrospect began to bulge like a grizzly particularly with the sudden death of Fernando Poe Jr.(FPJ). Nope, there was nothing good we could say about 2004. It was not only bad year. It was a horrible year.

Media got a beating during the show.

Brother Eddie complained that during the 26th aniversary of Jesus Is Lord where multitudes of the faithful filled the Luneta and speakers lambasted Malacañang, all the TV stations avoided it like the plague. Not a single line appeared in print media the following day Did they get instructions from on high? Were they – whisper, whisper – taken care of?

Throughout the TV show, the bad news about 2004 tumbled out like garbage into the dump yard. The nation’s leadership was berated, the thieves flagellated, the illegal loggers, the smugglers, the Bureau of Customs, Jose Pidal of course. It was like pasturing a herd of wild, dirty pigs through the corral.

Kata Inocencio womanfully tried to light a candle in all this darkness, but all she could accept – like the rest of us – was Manny Pacquiao. Well, biddie boy, live up to all the expectations and, by Jove, you’ll really make a huge pile of money and make it honestly. Go to it, beat Marquez, break the skull of Barrera again.

And the year 2005, how would it register?

It would not only be more of the same. It could or would be worse, much worse. The rise in the prices of prime commodities, of everything, would not be stopped. For GMA, it would be like sticking a finger into a hole in a dike that was breaking down.

And so? And so, we all hemmed and hawed. We were getting into what is normally uncharted territory, or No Man’s Land. Yes, yes, yes, everything could be worse. I said what nobody wanted to say. I said it was possible the"social volcanlo" could erupt in the year 2005. But short of that, we avoided getting into the currents of "civil war?" or revolution or coup d’etat.

I heard the word junta. I pretended not to hear it. Brother Eddie, as host, was treading a trip wire. Kata Inocencio was not willing either to tip the talk show into a seething cauldron of coups and national bloodletting. Tony Lopez figured there was a line in the ground to be respected. Maybe in the next Wednesday talk show of Dios at Bayan, we could essay some shadow-boxing on the subject.

In the meantime, we were still feeling the effects of 2004. And the possible beginnings of 2005.

Oh yes, we discussed the Filipino and his culture. What was it about him that resisted progress, that could take a crushing left hook on the jaw without sprawling on the canvas? What was about the Filipino that was complacent and patient, resigned and forbearing, submissive, easy to forget, easy to forgive?

And yet the Pinoy was fleeing the Philippines in droves. Brother Eddie mentioned the earlier figure of about two to three thousand Filipinos departing daily for distant lands. Now the figure had bloated to six or seven thousand. It was deplorable, it was sad. What could we do to stop it?

Nothing really. There were no jobs to hand out. Food had become scarce, and classrooms depleted. Pray? Yes, the Filipino was good at that. He could dance, he could sing, and yes indeed, he could pray very well. And looking at how tsunamis devastated South Asia and killed close to a million, he was praying even more. And somewhat still smiling.

12/27/2004

In the past few weeks or so, I have been doing a lot of modifications on my blog. So much so I have been sidetracked from writing my usual essays. I know I have a handful of regulars that might be missing my essays by now!!!

12/25/2004

Hi, I have a problem, can you lend me a helping hand? For some time now, I have been trying to understand what a "trackback" is!? But I just don't get what it is all about! I looked up the meaning of "trackback" in the internet, but I still don't know what it is all about!

Here is the definition provided by www.haloscan.com:

Trackback is a system that alerts and allows a blogger to see who blogged about posts in his/her blog. The system works by sending a ping between the blogs, and therefore sending an alert.

Say what!? Ano daw (tagalog of say what)!? Can someone explain to me in plain english or tagalog??? Please helllllllppppppppp!!!?!!!

12/22/2004

I especially enjoyed the ones I spent in the province. The thing that I enjoyed the most was the trip to the province. I would excitedly pack my bags the night before, and we would wake up early in the morning, about 4:00 AM. My mom would prod me to eat breakfast, usually its those red hotdogs made either by purefoods or swift with friend rice; the breakfast of champions!

Pasko sa Probinsya (Christmas in the Province)

Anyway, we would be on our way by 5:30 AM or so. I just loved when we got to the North Luzon Express Way, I loved the view of the fields and mountains! I enjoyed the smell of the province, the fresh air, I even liked smelling the stench of carabao dung! Then when we got there, everybody would be so warm. The picture above reminded me of my grandparents’ house and parol. So warm, so Christmas.

12/20/2004

Through Gerry Chua, communications head of the Association of Phil Volunteer Fire Brigades (the dependable Filipino-Chinese volunteer fire brigade group who almost always get to the fire first), TXT FIRE was created.

Report a fire by sending REPORT [Location] to +0918.6888888 (your report will be verified by the local fire station). Or text FIRE, send to same number, and you'll immediately receive a report on any active fire.

Now, why not join the group and become a volunteer? Most of us can never be fire brigade Vs, but we can be at least TEXT FIRE VOLUNTEERS. Just send REG [Full Name] [Address] to the same number.

4Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud.

5It is not rude, it is not selfseeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.

6Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.

7It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

------------------

Whoever said Love was easy!? But if we follow God's guidance, we will trully know what Love is all about. Humility allows us to love unconditionally as God has designed it. So let a part of you die, so that you will know how to Love.

12/17/2004

Yes folks this is Hanauma Bay, Hawaii. The view there is so pristine! This picture turned out so well I made this my wallpaper. I was there back in 2002.

Imagine me writing about those serious essays regarding corrupt government officials. Then once in a while I minimize my word document and stare at that picture. I recall that moment that picture was taken. It was so peaceful there, the sound of the waves, the sun glistening on the water, the clear blue water, the fish swimming in the shallow part of the beach. Just gorgeous, enough to make you forget your fears, worries, cares even for a few minutes. How about that, a mini vacation on my desktop computer, pretty cool, huh.

Do yourself a favor, click the picture and view it in full size; I swear you won't regret it!

By F. Sionil Jose
(Speech delivered by the author at the Universityof the Philippines, Diliman, on Nov. 23, 2004)

What is an old man like myself doing here,talking about revolution? Hindsight is the lowestform of wisdom. I can tell you what it was likewhen your campus was nothing but cogon waste,when all those trees that line your streets werejust saplings.

I can tell you, also, why we were left behind byall our neighbors when in the Fifties and theSixties we were the richest, most progressivecountry in the region, when Seoul and Tokyo wereravaged by war; Kuala Lumpur and Jakarta weremere kampongs; when Bangkok was a sleepy towncrisscrossed by canals. I never was in China till1979, but I know in the Forties that country wasalways threatened by famine.

It had a population then of only half a billion.Now, with more than a billion people, famine isno longer a threat, although hunger still lurksin some of its distant regions.

Hunger has always been with some of us, too, butnot as much as it is now when so many poorFilipinos eat only once a day. Altanghap, Iwonder how many of you know what that word means.

So then, why are we poor? Why do our women fleeto foreign cities to work as housemaids, asprostitutes?

We are poor because we have lost our ethicalmoorings, this in spite of those massivereligious rallies of El Shaddai, those neo-gothicchurches of the Iglesia ni Kristo sprouting allover the country, in spite of thenearly 400 years of Catholic evangelization.

How can we build an ethical society? We mustremember that so-called values are neutral thatso much depends on how people use them. JamesFallows' thesis on our damaged culture, whichmany of us understand, is neither permanent norinherent.

Ramon Magsaysay infused public life in theFifties with discipline and morality, ArsenioLacson as mayor of Manila cleaned up City Hall.Even today, shining examples of honesty among inour public officials exist, but they are few andfar between and they are not institutionalized.

And it is precisely here where the universitycomes in with its courses in the humanities. Ofall the arts, only literature teaches us ethics.Literature presents us with problems, complexequations that deal with the human spirit and howoften the choice between right and wrong is made.In this process, we are compelled to use ourconscience, to validate the choices we make, andrender the meaning, the pith of our existence.

The university then is the real cathedral of anation, and its humanities, particularly itsliterature department, the altar. But how many ofour teachers know this crucial function ofliterature, how many teachers themselves possessthis sense of worth and mission?

To know ourselves, to make good and proper use ofour consciences, we must know our own history. Sofew of us do, in fact, we nurture no sense of thepast.

If our teachers know our history, if they soak itin their bones, then it follows that they alsoimpart this very same marrow to their students.

If this is so, how come that when Bongbong Marcosvisited Diliman sometime ago, he was mobbed bystudents who wanted his autograph? How come thatin La Salle, business students cited Marcos asthe best President this country ever had?

Not too long ago, I spoke before freshmen at theAteneo and was told that since so many practicebribery, it must be right, or how could anyoneget things done if palms are not greased?

In this university are professors who servedMarcos. Have they ever been asked what their rolewas?

We are poor because we are not moral. Can thisimmorality as evidenced by widespread corruptionbe quantified? Yes, about P23 billion a year islost, according to NGO estimates.

We are poor because we have no sense of history,and therefore, no sense of nation. Thenationalism that was preached to my generation byClaro M. Recto and Lorenzo Taada was phony; howthey could have convinced so many intellectualsis in itself the failure of those intellectualsto analyze that inward, socially meaninglessnationalism.

Recto and Taada opposed agrarian reform, thesingle most important political act that couldhave lifted this country then from poverty andreleased the peasantry from its centuries-oldbondage.

We are poor because our elite from way back hadno sense of nation - they collaborated withwhoever ruled - the Spaniards, the Japanese, theAmericans and in recent times, Marcos. Our eliteimbibed the values of the colonizer.

And worst of all, these wealthy Filipinos did notmodernize this country, they sent abroad theirwealth distilled from the blood and sweat of ourpoor. The rich Chinese to China, to Taiwan, toHong Kong, the rich mestizos to Europe, and therich Indios like Marcos to Switzerland and theUnited States - money that could have developedthis nation.

How do we end this shameless domesticcolonialism? The ballot failed; the bullet then?How else but through the cleansing power ofrevolution. Make no mistake about it revolutionmeans the transfer of power fromthe decadent upper classes to the lower classes.

Revolution is class war whose objective isjustice and freedom.

Who will form the vanguard of change? Who elsebut the very people who will benefit from it.

Listen, when I was researching for my novel Poonat the New York Public Library, I came acrossphotographs of our soldiers of the 1896revolution felled in their trenches by Americanguns. I looked closely and found that most ofthem were barefoot. They were peasants.

The peasant is the truest nationalist. He worksthe land with his hands, he knows instinctivelywhat the term Motherland means. He loves thisearth, even worships it. The Ilocano farmer callsit Apo Daga.

But never romanticize the poor. Once, a group ofPhDs lamented the futility of their efforts inorganizing and motivating them. When theelections came that year, the poor sold theirvotes, or voted for Erap.

Understand why they are often lazy, contemptible,fawning, cheating and stealing. Imagine yourselfnot having a centavo in your pocket now, and youdon't know if you will eat tonight. There isnothing honorable about poverty - it is totallydehumanizing and degrading. But once the verypoor are roused from their stupor, they becomethe bravest, the most steadfast. Remember thoseWatawat ng Lahi followers felled by Constabularyguns on Taft Ave. in 1965? They believed thatwith their faith they were invincible.

It is with such faith and righteousness that ourpeasants rebelled in living memory, the Colorumsin 1931, the Sakdals in 1935, and the Huks in1949-53.

The Moro rebellion, the New People's Army, thecadres of both are from our very poor, just likeit was in 1896. And now, here is the most tragiccontradiction in our country. Our Armed Forces'its officers corps' many come from the lowerclasses, too; they got to their exalted positionsthrough public examinations and entry to thePhilippine Military Academy. Our Armed Forcesenlisted men, most of them come from thevery poor.

When the poor kill the poor, who profits?

The Ideology of the Revolution

Revolution starts in the mind and heart. Italters attitudes to enable us to think beyondourselves, family and ethnicity to encompass thewhole nation. If the communists win, and I don'tthink they ever will, they will rule just asbadly because they are Filipinos unable to gobeyond barnacled habits of mind, hostage as theyalways are to friends and family and to toweringegos. The same egos aborted the revolution in1896, the EDSA revolution in 1986, and now, wesee the same egos wrecking havoc on the CommunistParty. We see these egos eroding our alreadyrotten political system.

The core belief that should guide us in redeemingour unhappy country is in our history, in ourpeasantry. It is not in textbooks, in foreignintellectual idols, in Marx. And what is thisideology which Bonifacio believed in? Which thosebarefoot soldiers killed by the Americansbelieved in? Pedro Calosa, the peasant leader wholed the Colorum uprising in Tayug, Pangasinan in1931, said it is this: "God resides in every man.God created earth, water and air for all men. Itis against God's laws for one family or one groupto own them."

God and country; translate this belief into yourown words and there you have it in its simplestterms the creed with which the unfulfilledrevolution of 1896 was based, and which should bethe same creed that should forge unity among us.

Who will lead the revolution?

Certainly, not the masa, but one from the masawho understands them, who will not betray themthe way our leaders betrayed the masa. Estrada isthe most shameful example of that leadership thatbetrayed.

The leaders of the revolution could be in thisuniversity who have the education, but who arenot shackled by alien concepts, or the attitudesof superiority that destroy leadership. Suchleaders, like Ho Chi Minh, must lead by sterlingexample, with integrity, courage, compassion andwillingness to sacrifice, who know that when therevolution is won, it is time to change fromconspirators to even better administrators,remembering that they have become conservative,that they must now work even harder to producebetter and cheaper products. And this massivework of modernization can be achieved in onegeneration. The Koreans, Taiwanese and theJapanese did it. It is not the Confucian ethicthat enabled them to do this, they understoodsimply the logic of government which is serviceand that of commerce which is profit.

By what right do I have to urge revolution uponour people who will suffer it? What right do Ihave to urge the young to sacrifice, the poor toget even poorer, if they embrace therevolutionary creed?

I have no such right, nor will I call it such. Icall it duty, duty, duty. Duty for all of usrooted in our soil, who believe that our destinyis freedom.

Not everyone can bear arms, or have the physicalstrength to stand up, to shout loudly about theinjustices that prevail around us.

Those who cannot do these, who cannot be part ofthis radical movement, must not help those whoenslave us.

Do not give them legitimacy as so many gavelegitimacy to Marcos. Recognize, identify ourenemies and oppose them with all your means. Thiswill then test integrity, commitment.

Nobody need tell us the exorbitant cost ofrevolution, the lives that will be lost,senselessly even as when Pol Pot massacredthousands of his own countrymen in Cambodia. Wewho lived through the Japanese Occupation knowwhat hunger, fear, and flight mean.

Joseph Conrad, Albert Camus and Jose Rizalwriters I admire deeply, all warned againstrevolution because it breeds tyrants, because itdoes not always bring change. But look around us,at the thousands of Filipinos who are debased andhungry, who are denied justice. Be shamed if youdon't act. And as Salud Algabre, the Sakdalgeneral said in 1935, "No rebellion fails. Eachis a step in the right direction."

Revolution need not even have to be bloody. Howmany lives were lost at Edsa 1? Not even 20. SoCory goes around telling the world that she hadrestored democracy in the Philippines. Sureenough, we now have free elections, free speech,free assembly but these are the empty shells ofdemocratic institutions because the real essenceof democracy does not exist here. And that realessence is in the stomach as when the taxidriver in Tokyo eats the same sashimi as theJapanese emperor, or the bus driver in Washingtonwho can eat the same steak as President Bush inthe White House. Contrast these with that joblessCavite laborer whose two children died because hefed them with garbage. No, Cory Aquino's Edsarevolution could not even have our garbageproperly collected. Worse, 19 farmerdemonstrators were killed near Malacaangbecause she refused to see them. True to heroligarchic class, she declared a revolutionarygovernment without doing anything revolutionary;instead, she turned Edsa 1 into a restoration ofthe old oligarchy. So today, we are reaping theresults of her negligence, ignorance and folly.

Yet, even capitalism can be very helpful. SouthKorea is a very good example of how capital wasformed by corruption, and how a singlemindedgeneral lifted that nation from the ashes of theKorean War, into the thriving modern economywhich Korea is today.

Remember the slogans of American capitalism achicken in every pot, a Ford in every garage.Money is like fertilizer to do any good it mustbe spread around. Those robber barons at the turnof the 19th century were rapacious, theyexploited their workers, but they builtindustries, railroads, banks, the sinews ofAmerican capitalism. And the most importantthing - they kept their money home to developAmerica.

Unlike our rich Chinese, our rich meztizos andthe likes of Marcos who sent their money abroadto keep us poor. They are the enemy.It has been said again and again that we are,indeed, a young nation compared with other Asiancountries whose august civilizations date back to2,000 years or more. Indeed, so are the Filipinoswho shaped this nation those who led therevolution against Spain they were all young,like you are, in their 20s or early 30s.Rizal was 34 when he was martyred.

How then do we keep young without having to growold only to see the fire in our minds and heartsdie? How does the nation's leading universitymaintain its vitality, its youth against theravages of consumerism, of globalism?

How else but to keep the mind ever healthy, everalive by empowering it with those ideas thatnurture change and revolution itself, byingesting the technological age so that we canuse technology for realizing our ideals.

How else but to embrace the ideas that make usdoubt technology, society, even revolutionitself, but never, never about who we are, whatwe should do and hope to be.

We cannot be beholden to any other nation. JoseMaria Sison doomed his revolution when he turnedto China for assistance; he ignored the"objective reality" the latent anti-Chinesefeeling among Filipinos, in fact among allSoutheast Asians who fear a Chinese hegemony.

We must mold our own destiny, infusing it withthe strength of a sovereign people. TheAmericans, the English, French, Russians, Cubans,Chinese, Vietnamese all achieved their uniquerevolutions. We must have our very own, definedonly by us.

How to build it, direct it, use it for thebetterment of our lives, the flowering of libertyI see all these as the major function of theuniversity which, after all, shapes our leaders.I pray that UP will graduate the best doctors,the best engineers, the best teachers, the bestbureaucrats. The revolution needs them all. Butmost of all, let this universityof the people produce the ultimate modernizer,the heroic nationalist revolutionary we needhim most of all.

Ok ok ok, I know I have been posting serious articles lately. Let me lighten up the mood around here! :D Here is Peanut hanging out with Spidey one Saturday Morning! We have actually trained Peanut to sit. We used Cheez It crackers to reward Peanut for sitting.

I wrote this article before the Philippine Presidential election of 2004. For some reason I never published it in my blog. With the death of FPJ, it reminded me of this article. Hopefully, my message is still relevant even if the presidential election is long over.
----------------------------

Have Filipinos Completely Lost Their Trust in Government?

The short answer is yes.

However, Filipinos may complain about the corrupt way government do things, but they perpetuate the same corrupt system that keeps them down.

Life in the Philippines is very harsh. It is as hopeless as hopeless can be. The pain that poor people endure is so evident by just looking at the strained expressions on people’s faces on the street. I am sure each Filipino wants change for the better.

But what can I say that would make a difference and actually improve the situation. It would be so easy to spit out motherhood statements, but I know that such statements make one feel good for a short moment then it amounts to nothing.

Change in a national scale requires a lot of effort. The key question is how can we even begin to change our nation

Teodoro Benigno said the following in a Philstar editorial on April 19, 2004:

Ergo, the presidential candidate that pours more money into the campaign than
anybody else has the decided advantage, the big edge. We are back to the
supremacy of the political machine, the brassknuckle power of money, and to hell
with political principles, honesty, integrity. The nation be
damned.

Raul Roco learned this lesson too late, believing as he did
in the innate goodness and nobility of republican democracy. He couldn’t believe
the people themselves had been wolfed into the bottomless sinkhole of
corruption. Brother Eddie Villanueva too will eventually learn the same lessons
well, that his stirring gospel of Christian brotherhood will be knocked into a
loop by Beelzebub.

If the poor allow themselves to be manipulated, resulting in an uninformed decision during the presidential elections, then how do we expect to place leaders that will strive for the nation’s best interests?

The problem is not only confined to the poor, it is widespread in all of Philippine society. How often do we sell out ourselves in the name of expediency? Unfortunately, the answer is all too often. The problem is that we have grown too callous of injustice; not only do we just sit idly by when we see it, oftentimes we are willing participants.

Then when we see it happen in gargantuan proportions, we are outraged, conveniently forgetting that we practice the same sort of thing, albeit at a smaller scale.

I know we cannot change our surroundings overnight, so therefore we should focus in ourselves. I am a firm believer of individual initiative. Work smart, work hard and create value! Don’t expect to create wealth if you just work hard enough to keep pace with the average Filipino.

12/11/2004

A corrupt elite begets corrupt institutions (e.g. government, church, academia, and business). Corrupt institutions produces a culture of distrust. A culture of distrust results in a dysfunctional capital market, which only serves to stifle entrepreneurship amongst the individuals that are not part of the establishment.

The bottom line is there needs to be a functioning social control mechanism that will protect people from each other through the creation of effective laws and the subsequent consistent enforcement of it; so that an environment of trust can be established in society.

Trust is the key to a thriving economy. Trust is a vital ingredient to a healthy capital market.

Due to the lack of trust in the capital markets, we see banks tend to lend money to entities with lots of money to begin with, while the rest are forced to deal with Tambunting Pawnshop, loan sharks (five six), relatives, etc. for their capital needs.

Due to the lack of trust our stock market is as sluggish as a sloth; potential investors shy away because they do not trust the financial statements released by public companies.

The more distrust there is, the more trust is needed to cure a laggard capital market. But an environment of trust cannot be created when we are resigned to the fact that our law enforcers, our law-makers, our judges, etc. are corrupt. The most tragic thing is that Filipinos are resigned that corruption is part of life and seem to have found justification to live a life of circumventing laws.

11/29/2004

To mark this year’s National Volunteer Month and International Volunteer Day, various groups sharing the same vision to promote volunteerism in the Philippines have come together to organize a special celebration: “Discover. Act. Volunteer. A Volunteer Fair to Celebrate Everyday Heroes" at the Intramuros’ Clamshell 2 on Dec 5 (Sunday).

The Volunteer Fair will be open from 11am to 9pm. At least 30 NGO’s spearheading different causes will be on site to recruit interested volunteers. Individuals or groups may sign up for various NGOs and corporate foundations supporting causes such as children and elderly welfare, women's rights, environmental awareness, and urban and rural development among others. Complementing this volunteer-matching affair is a whole-day program: round table discussions on volunteerism, a photo, video and art exhibit, awarding of the essay-writing contest winners and guest performances.

The organizing team of this year’s NVM celebration includes iVolunteer.ph, Phil Business for Social Progress (PBSP), Phil National Volunteer Services Coordinating Agency (PNVSCA), Volunteer Organization Information Coordination and Exchange (VOICE), VSO Bahaginan, CreativeAid, Filipino United Nations Volunteers Association (FUNVA), People Power People Movement and the United Nations Volunteer (UNV).

For more info: email Manuela Longo at manuela.longo@undp.org. See you there!

11/25/2004

Looking back at the things that happened to me this year, I realize that I have so much to thank about! A new job, a new apartment, a new puppy, etc! I owe all to God! Mind you I had a tough time adjusting to my new job; I must admit I was at the brink of just quitting! Thank God I stuck with it! What I learned through this experience is that perseverance will be rewarded with results. So, if you are going through tough times, just persevere and things will fall into place eventually. To everyone out there, happy Thanksgiving!

11/24/2004

Deanie Lyn on 11/9/2004 2:35:44 PM
Spend a worthwhile night of acoustic music with no less than pro folk icon and alternative singer, Noel Cabangon. His well-mastered repertoire will be composed of original songs covering the values of volunteerism, nation-building, giving & Christmas. VOICE!, a fund raising concert to support VOICE Network's nationwide volunteer exchange programs will be staged on December 11, 7:00 pm. Tickets are at P200, P350 & P500. Contact: tel# 928.8969, cel# 0918.9375075.

11/20/2004

A thread in Tsinoy.com peeked my interest “RP Economy to Crash in Two years”; Click Here to see the thread in the forum.

One of the responses to the thread is the following:

This is the way of life they've chosen, let them lie in the beds they've made. In the entire history of civilization, there's the "haves" and there's the "not haves". They can't all be "haves". You have to accept it, pinoys are the atsays of the world. They provide cheap labors and they do a good job at it. They are obedient and they are hard workers if you keep an eye on their work. They make good followers but poor leaders. In all honesty, without the pinoys, who would wash my car? Clean up after me? Wash my clothes? Where will I get servants? Most of them are content with their simple lives. We, the Chinese, don't have the right to tell the filipinos how to rule their land. Just sit back and enjoy the benefits.

Here is my response to this post:

Creativeaso you have a very interesting point of view.

Indeed one's culture is the driver of ones stock in life. Truly the culture that pervades in the Philippines is corrupted; the church, academia, business and government are all feeding a corrupt system that serves to keep enriching the very rich and lock out the middle class and the poor for any way out of their station in life.

Unfortunately a lot of Filipinos as well as Tsinoys have grown all too use to the perverse system as they willingly break the laws with impunity, even if their acts are a disservice to the entire nation.

I say the elite Filipinos (Spanish, Kastilaloy, Chinese, Malay, etc.) have driven the entire nation to its corrupt state.

Slowly, the morality of Filipinos (Spanish, Kastilaloy, Chinese, Malay, etc.) has eroded. Why? Because the elite have shown the middle and poor classes that they can act in a corrupt manner and get away with it and that decent hard work is seemingly not worth it. The church and academia have stood idly by and let our morality erode as the elite has control of these institutions.

If we are to blame anyone or anything we should blame the culture.

Who perpetuated the corrupt culture we see today?

Initially the elite perpetuated the corrupted culture, but now it is pervasive in Philippine society.

At some point the Tsinoy community was insulated to some degree of the culture of corruption as they built their own community and took care of one another, but slowly some Tsinoys have partaken of the corrupt culture that is pervasive in the Philippine society.

The perception is most Tsinoys are well off. The fact is, there are those that are well off, but the later generations of Tsinoys are no better than their Filipino counterparts, as many of them would rather work for a call center than work for the family business or have no other alternative.

You call Filipinos atsays of the world; then you are calling yourself an atsay of the world as well. You are part of this perverted culture. You condemn the wrongs that the corrupted system begets at the same time you sit back and enjoy its fruits.

In my book, that is hypocritical.

Get real everyone. The way you do things in a daily basis is the source of all our problems. There is no rule of law to keep everyone in line. I know following the law with such a corrupt government is futile. All we can really control is our lives, live honestly and be simple, be productive and hurt no one. Be an encouragement to your countryman. By the end of the day, if you have done your best for yourself and your country, then you have done your part.

Enough of this finger pointing and bashing of each other and lets act decently to each other, and let us not get corrupted by the culture of corruption. Let us take care of each other.

11/15/2004

This is my surprise gift for my Mother's birthday! Shhhhhhh, my mother visits my blog once in a while!

Anyway, here is the description from the website that I bought the necklace from: "A beautifully crafted sterling silver daisy pendant on a bead necklace will surely captivate the heart of the lady in your life. Bring her daisies of a different form... diverse and elegant."

11/10/2004

There is a lack of order within Philippine society that is keeping its people from transcending poverty. I am indicting three Philippine institutions (namely government, academia, organized religion) within our Society for the poverty that our nation is suffering today.

I touched upon this topic in an earlier article I wrote and here is an excerpt from that article, A Different Slant:

Our problem is systemic with one core issue; the populace is enabling the corrupt practices in Philippine society may it be in government, organized religion, academia, etc.. The components of a society such as government, academia, religion, etc. must function with order; this can be done by creating rules and its consistent implementation. In the Philippines today we have the law of the land and religious commandments to give us guidance in implementing order in our society. I don’t think the problem lies in the lack of guidance; rather it’s all about the populace’s lack of compliance and government’s lack of enforcement of the laws of the land. As a result, anarchy has replaced the order that we so need to enact economic progress.

In my earlier article, I directly blamed government for failing to provide order in our society; not only that, government is the biggest violators of the law. At the same time, I stated that organized religion and academia supplied Philippine society with guidance through the dissemination of moral teachings and ethics, which can be effective instruments of social control, that’s if people practice what they learn in church and school.

However, now I am including academia and organized religion among the culprits of our failing society.

Faults of Academia:Leaders of Academia lack the courage and integrity in providing Filipinos the truth. For example, the UP Study regarding the economic collapse of the Philippines. Why did the authors of this study release it after the presidential elections? I find the timing of the release of the study suspicious. If this study were released before the Presidential elections there would have been no way GMA would have won.

Also what is disturbing is that the recommendations of the paper were conveniently in line with GMA’s proposed tax measures. Don’t get me wrong, I do believe there is an impending economic collapse, but I don’t think taxing Filipino consumers some more is the solution.

So you see, if academia will not speak for the truth and tell it how it is when it matters, how can we ever address the source of our nation’s problems?

Faults of Organized Religion:The Catholic Church is the poster child for the population boom that is going on in the Philippines. The Catholic Church’s disapproval of the use of artificial birth control methods has effectively influenced the government’s policy. Even now, government turns a blind eye at the exploding 80 plus million population of the Philippines in fear of upsetting the Catholic Church.

It is obvious that the natural birth control method that the Catholic Church is teaching to married couples is not working as an unplanned additions to the families happens more often than not. The Catholic Church has failed to teach young adults (read young couples) to wait until they are married as unwanted pregnancies happen more and more. It is saddening that the Catholic Church has failed to teach its teenage parishioners to abstain from sex as teenage parents abound more than ever. For a country that is so conscious between the separation of church and state, the church has made a hefty impact in terms of government policy over population control issues.

Although I am not saying that the individual is not at fault for his/her lot in life, but it is up to Academe and Organized Religion to provide guidance so to affect social controls that would provide order to society. But what are Filipinos to do when the government is too corrupt to legislate, administer and interpret the law properly and have academic institution and organized religion keeps the people helpless and un-informed?

11/05/2004

A co-worker of yummy (not my wife's real name) gave us this beautiful chiwawa. The first few days the poor dog could not eat as it was still acclimating to our apartment. A few days later it started eating really well; with that it started doing its business everywhere! The horror!!!!

I guess we will just have to be patient with it and take it to the park often!

Yummy told me not to feed Peanut (not our dog's real name) any human food. One night, I was eating pizza and buffalo wings. Peanut was begging for a buffalo wing, whimpering and staring at me with those cute beady eyes, so I gave in and tossed it a buffalo wing. I said to myself, one buffalo wing should not hurt it. Peanut devoured the wing like a Lion tearing apart a wilder beast in the plains of the Serengeti; I had no idea such primal instincts can be inside that cute little dog, not even 2 pounds. That gave me quite a chuckle.

Then at around 12:30 pm Peanut was throwing up chunks of buffalo wings. *eek* I guess human food is not good for Peanut, who has never eaten human food in its life! So, I learned my lesson; DO NOT FEED THE LITTLE DOG HUMAN FOOD.

11/03/2004

In the end, I declined to vote for US president. Rather I focused on the initiatives that affected my state such as the state government stem cell research funding (voted no); public funding for children’s hospitals (voted yes), etc.

Since California voted heavily for Kerry, my vote would have not mattered either way. In my book, both of them are suspicious.

At least now, there is no doubt in anyone's mind the legitimacy of the Bush's win in the Presidential polls. This should bring about more unity in America compared to the last four years. Indeed things are looking up for America.

11/02/2004

I just found this wonderful feature at http://www.tag-board.com/. This site provides you with the code for a tag board that enables your visitors to leave messages in your blog! Oh what fun! If you are reading this please do leave me a message in my tag board!

10/30/2004

It’s one of my favorite times of the year! Is it Thanksgiving? No! Is it Halloween? No! Is it Christmas? No!

What time is it? Its time to set our clocks back as daylight is becoming shorter and shorter! I get to sleep one more hour, oh what joy!!! So, don’t forget to set your time back by one hour tonight if you don’t want to be at church too early tomorrow!

10/29/2004

I am an undecided voter for the poll for US President to be held this November . There are just a lot of things to consider. In my effort to decide for whom to vote for I have spoken to friends, family and co-workers what they thought and the following are my conclusions.

One of the reasons that I like about Kerry is his anti-war stance. In my opinion the Bush administration should have stopped at Afghanistan. The Bush administration has failed to show that there were weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. So how can I in good conscience support the continued war efforts in Iraq?

On the other hand, I am anti abortion and gay marriages. So, I tend to like Bush’s stance regarding abortion and gay marriages. However, God did give us free will. So, even if there are no laws against abortions and gay marriages, it is still up to the individual to decide whether to follow the commandments of God in the Bible.

The most enlightening comment that I heard about whom to vote for recently came from one of my co-workers. He said that it did not matter who wins this election, whoever wins, Americans would fully support their commander in chief. Then I thought about my beloved Philippines (my land of birth), Filipinos react with pessimism and would be hard pressed to be supportive towards the candidate who won the presidency when their candidate do not win; quite a stark contrast between Americans and Filipinos. That realization saddened me, perhaps when Filipinos learn to give his/her loyalty to country first rather than personalities, then the Philippine nation will rise from the ashes.

10/21/2004

Look at my birdie. I know, I know the title is a little bit misleading! This birdie is not even mine, its actually wild. This photo was taken in Hawaii two years ago. I love this picture. By the way if you are reading this, feel free to comment on any of my articles.

10/17/2004

Editorial: Re-Instill Fear in the Hearts of FilipinosGone are the days when the rule of law governed the lives of Filipinos. Today, more than ever before is the need to re-instill the fear of law in the hearts of Filipinos. Without the rule of law, our nation cannot go anywhere. In this article I would like to discuss the problems in our justice system and potential solutions.

Court cases take too long to conclude:My family’s business was a victim of a Multinational Corporation 10 years ago, when it reneged on its contractual obligation to us that resulted in damages of millions of pesos in potential revenue. So we took them to court, and after 10 years of litigation and 1 million pesos worth of attorney fees, the court ruled for our case. Good thing we won the case eh? Otherwise we would have had to face a counter suite by the multinational corporation.

The poor is locked out of the justice due to the high price of good representation:Filipinos that can afford a really good lawyer has a fair chance in the Philippine court system. But how about the poor who are typically most abused and cannot ever dream of affording a good lawyer? This tragic reality has left the rich and powerful’s abuses unchecked, which has contributed to the culture of crime that pervades in government, business and religion. The Justice system is supposed to be the equalizer between the rich and poor, but the perverted justice system in the Philippines is a big joke.

There is much to reform in our court system. We need to instill fear to those entities/individuals (government officials, big corporations, criminals, kidnappers, etc.) who knowingly do harm to others. Look around you; injustice is smattered all over the manila landscape. We cannot sit idly by while you are being raped and violated everyday by our politicians, criminals, big business, etc.?! Don’t you want to re-instill the fear of the law in the hearts of abusive Filipinos?

The solution: Involve everybody in dispensing justice:Perhaps a trial jury and grand jury within our court system would help restore justice to our people.

Trial Jury: Rather than having a judge decide whether the accused in a trial is guilty, why not have a jury of his/her peers decide. This way, it will be harder to manipulate the outcome of the court case. Also, having a trial jury will help involve Filipinos in dispensing justice and in the process defuse the power to decide from the few (read court judges). However, the selection process of the trial jury will be essential in ensuring the integrity of the outcome.

Grand Jury: Set up a Grand Jury that will secretly investigate government officials. Again a jury composed of common citizens should be given the task of deciding whether these officials have violated mandate of his/her mandate.

10/16/2004

Ivolunteer is the first volunteerism portal meant to serve the Philippines. I have just much respect for Deanie Ocampo, the heart and soul of I-vol!

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Here is a little something about I-volunteer:

iVolunteer.ph is the Philippines' First Volunteerism Portal.

iVolunteer.ph seeks to promote volunteerism for social development by harnessing the power and reach of the Internet.

iVolunteer.ph provides web-based facilities for non-stock and non-profit organizations to post volunteer opportunities in a intelligently-searcheable database for FREE!

Interested volunteers can then conveniently browse these volunteer opportunities (vopp) by issue/cause, location, duration, and other parameters -- all at the convenience of their desktops. Online sign-up facilities are provided or volunteers may make arrangements with participating organizations directly.

iVolunteer.ph is a project of Pinoy-rin.net (http://www.pinoy-rin.net) -- a non-profit organization supported by blood, sweat, tears, humor, and kropeck.

Pinoy-rin.net is harnessing the power and reach of the Internet to promote social activism and encourage the formulation of doable proactive plans to address political, social, and economic challenges that our country faces, and to promote multiculturalism as the foundation of nation-building.

Where the Pinoy-rin.net website promotes advocacy via an online periodical and discussion forum; iVolunteer.ph channels the same awareness, enthusiasm, and energy towards volunteerism and involvement in the issues that affect us today.

iVolunteer.ph likewise provides a free, convenient, and transborder alternative for organizations to post volunteer opportunites and reach out to the volunteer in each of us.

It is this three-way link between advocacy (through online publications), discussion (through online forums), and volunteerism that we seek to help educate the Internet crowd and draw support to the various non-government, non-profit organizations that are working on different social, civic, economic, and political issues that affect us today.

Be an iVolunteer! Today.

This site is not an original idea. We were inspired by VolunteerMatch, which unfortunately, is currently limited to US-based organizations and opportunities only. www.ivolunteer.ph was conceived in reaction to providing similar services to Philippine-based organizations and will carry a distinct Pinoy flavor to it's features and functionality.
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Yummy (this is not my wife's real name) and I got married on December 14, 2002. It has been almost two years ago. Wow, time sure flies. Its almost like life just went on fast forward when I got married. But, I think Yummy and I are finally getting settled down through the Lord's guidance. Thank God!